From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Note detailing a visit to the Delco plant to inspect their shock absorber technology and development.
Identifier | ExFiles\Box 28\1\ Scan182 | |
Date | 22th December 1930 | |
1832 Copy of note received from Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} in U.S.A. To R.{Sir Henry Royce} c. Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} c. Nor. S. c. Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} EV.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} DELCO SHOCK ABSORBERS. Cy. Btn. and my self spent a day at the Delco plant at Dayton. Delco is a branch of the General Motors and as Cy. was in G.M. business we were shown all they had. The interesting point to me was that they had been through exactly the same troubles as we have but they are now making a shock absorber which is quiet and remains quiet. They have overcome the mechanical noises by getting rid of all possibility and slack between the axle and the shock absorber piston. It is also arranged so that any wear is automatically taken up. They obtain this by having direct operation on to the piston from a lever fixed to the rocking shaft. The rubbing surfaces are hardened, the piston is made in two pieces which are located and held together by a spring which ensures that there is never any slack. The ball joints are spring loaded similar to ours so that there is no slack in the connections. The noise from the valves has given them a lot of trouble and they have overcome this by having an out of balance discharge. They have special silent rooms for testing for noise and I should say the standard they aim at is higher than we get. They have an experimental dept. of 150 people doing nothing else but trying to improve or reduce the cost of shock absorbers. They had a collection of sorts and types which they had experimented with. They have a whole set up for destruction tests on shock absorbers and the connections to the axle. There were about 12 on test when I was there. They also use a steam engine type indicator the same as we use. They also have an electrical apparatus giving the pressure in the shock absorber on the road. They are developing and have running, shock absorbers which can be adjusted from the drivers seat. They admit that as regards the adjustment and setting | ||